Too Little, Too Late
by Ireni L'Elffe de la Glace
Summary: Eridan Ampora emerges from prison after serving ten years, broken and regretful. He hates himself for what he's done, but knows that he owes one person more than anything. And even though Sollux won't even look him in the eyes, Eridan is determined to make it up to him. No matter what it takes. Eridan/Sollux. Erisol. Human!Stuck.


**AND A HOMESTUCK AS WELL. NOW I HAVE THREE PROJECTS TO WORK ON AT THE SAME TIME! HOOOOOOOOOOORAY!**

**But this is the final one i will be adding for a while, i just needed some diversity. It's Eridan/Sollux, EriSol, whatever you call it. I feel like it's going to drag into a long story, but I may be wrong.**

**This first chapter is Angst gone wild, but with comic relief from Vantas himself :D It won't be this horrible and 'i hate myself' the whole time, scouts honor (im not a scout but oh well XD)**

**Sollux will be first thing next chapter, but Chapter one is all Eri :D**

**Enjoy ^u^**

**((Homestuck is not mine omg plz as if))**

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_**CHAPTER ONE**_

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The man had an aura of broken emptiness as he stared at the cold, stone ceiling of his cell with half-lidded eyes. His slightly chilled breaths echoed loudly off the walls of the tightly confined room that he abided in, but he was entirely accustomed to it. It was a truly miserable place to be in, but the man felt on the verge of tears with the knowledge that today was his final day in prison. He knew he deserved to die there after what he'd done.

His name was Eridan Ampora, and he had screwed up _royally. _

Eridan snapped out of his trance as the sound of keys clinking into the lock penetrated his ears; and with a slow, death-like movement he pushed himself into a sitting position. His eyes met the reddish brown globes of the officer letting him out. He could tell what his opinion of him was instantly. His eyes reflected Eridan's inner most thoughts. He knew the only reason Eridan wasn't on death row was because his parents had paid the best lawyer in the country to work his trial. He knew Eridan shouldn't be let out ever, let alone today. He knew Eridan was a piece of absolute shit.

"Follow me." He had a loud voice for his small stature, but Eridan barely registered it. His slim figure slid off the bed and his feet met the cold floor. He swallowed hard, standing and following the man with a wavering gait. Every ounce of will that he may have had before any of this mess had ever happened was gone. He was powered only by the knowledge of the final thing he needed to do before he died. It echoed through his mind again and again, both reminding him and causing him nauseating dread. He'd vomited many times already just thinking about it.

"Hey, fuckass! Here's your stuff, moron!" Eridan blinked in surprise as he realized the officer was holding out a box of things he'd come into prison bearing. A small nostalgic smile crept onto my grief glistened face as he tenderly removed his old scarf and wrapped it around his neck.

"Thanks." Eridan whispered, surprised his voice didn't crack from disuse. After a moment he discovered the man was staring at him and he made eye contact. The man didn't look away.

"I've heard a fuckin' lot about you, y'know," the man began with a causal tone despite his harsh language, "you're a sick bastard, and I want you to hear that coming from a complete stranger." Eridan grunted a bit, breaking the eye contact and burying his gaze in the floor. Another wave of sheer guilt washed over him and he shuddered.

"...There it goes again... I just don't get it!" I looked up slightly, "most of those rich pricks that do those awful things and get their daddies to bail them out act like smug assholes! Why do you look like you're about to fucking cry?" His voice was hard and cruel, but Eridan was beginning to think that was just the kind of person this guy was.

Eridan slowly willed himself to speak, words tumbling out in a somewhat soft tone, "I've done nothin' for the past ten years but think about w-what I did, an' I'm so sickened by it that I w-would have stayed in my cell today if I didn't have one more thing I need to do before I die."

The statement must have caught him off-guard because his eyes widened and his frown increased. "That's some messed up thinking, but to be honest, you've kinda piqued my interest." His eyes rested on Eridan for another couple seconds before he smirked. It was a rude expression, but not cruel, "and you may wanna get that stuttering under control before you become the fucking punch line of every joke these badass prisoners tell for the next century."

A dark blush swept over Eridan's face and he huffed, crossing his arms, "it's very rude to insult somebody with a speakin problem... Especially somebody you just met!"

"Fine," the word came out as if it was a pain, but it was obvious the officer had no problem with what he was saying, "my name is Karkat Vantas, I work here as an officer part-time. I'm married and luckily without any fucking kids so far." Karkat had stuck his hand out and Eridan took it timidly, shaking it.

"I'm Eridan Ampora... And you know everything about me already, Kar..."

"Yeah I pretty much do, but that is no reason to give me a shitty nickname you asshole!" His face twisted into a hard scowl and he revoked his hand. Eridan felt himself snicker.

"Hey, you were the one that was so 'interested'." He joked in a slightly more confident voice.

"What-the-fuck-even-_ever. _I'm always interested in freaks and weirdos, thats no compliment to _you,_ fuckass." His lip had curled into the slightest smirk and Eridan felt, for the first time in ten years, a small amount of his old personality return. The way this Karkat was treating him... He hasn't been treated this way since before he had come to jail...

Karkat was treating him like a human being.

But the talk with the officer was cut short when two large men came up behind Eridan and handcuffed him. He swallowed hard, knowing he was going to be carted off home like an animal. It was part of the process, he was never truly alone until the last paper was signed and his ass was dumped on his front porch.

"See ya later, douchebag." The goodbye was laced with just the smallest hint of genuine regret, and Eridan felt anxiety bubble in his stomach.

"Bye..."

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Damn had it been a long time. The maid that he had hired to tend to his house back when he had been living in it was obviously not doing her job anymore, and Eridan scowled at the horrible condition of his home.

Dust was on everything, and glass was scattered in many places on the floor where kids had shattered windows with their rocks.

A bitter taste rose in Eridan's mouth, but he forced it down quickly. These were very small things, and it honestly wasn't like he didn't deserve it.

Ritualistically, and inclined by impulse, Eridan walked into the kitchen that he hadn't seen in years and took out a broom and dustpan. It would take a few hours, but he knew he wouldn't be able to think through his racing mind until he had a clean environment.

And as expected, three hours were spent tidying. It was a very slow and thoughtless process, and to Eridan it felt soothingly meditative. Every time he wiped the surface of a chest, his stomach loosened just a bit. Every time he finished sweeping up a room, his heart felt lighter.

But as he stepped back into the entry room of his home, entire house as clean as it had been in ten years, Eridan felt his entire body weaken.

He was alone.

His house was always so large that he had used to have parties almost every weekend. He'd invited people he hardly knew, just to fill the empty rooms and bring him company. Of course, his small little group of friends always came as well. And by small, he mainly meant one person. The most important in his life. The one he—

A loud, sudden ring of the phone jolted Eridan from his thoughts and made him jump. He blinked a few times, looking around the room. A second ring penetrated his ear drums, and he quickly moved to find the phone. Through the living room and into the kitchen he went, arm stretching out in advance to tug the thing off the wall and place it to his ear. After he had done just that, his voice came out into the receiver.

"Hello?"

A silence greeted him and his throat tightened. He twisted his finger in the cord of the phone— a nervous habit he had. A few seconds passed before a familiar voice graced his ears.

"So you made it home," the words seemed like they should sound glad, but Eridan distinctly detected disgust, "welcome back chief."

"Cronus I don't w-wanna hear any a' your shit." Eridan stuttered the words out, heart picking up speed a bit, "from anyone else, I deserve it. But you are just as low-w as me an you know-w it!"

A dark chuckle hit Eridan's ears and he scowled. "Calm down, I'm not calling to pick a fight. More along the lines of checking to see if the rumors are true."

"Well now you know they are," Eridan snapped, fingers running roughly through his honey blonde hair as he struggled to keep his voice steady. Another dry snicker met his words yet again, causing blood to rush to Eridan's face angrily.

"I was wondering one more thing, chief…" A grin was audible in the words, and the blonde man didn't want to reply.

"What." He muttered in irritation.

"Do you still have that one tee-shirt you borrowed from me before you got thrown in the slammer?"

Eridan slammed the phone down, the sound of Cronus's hysterical laughter buzzing loudly from the speaker as the phone was hung up.

Cronus Ampora was Eridan's one and only cousin, and just about the biggest douchebag to ever be born. He was five years older than Eridan, smoked like a chimney, and was never serious in the least. And yet, it spoke great volumes that this sorry piece of rubbish could look down on Eridan with an expression of disgust.

It only proved yet again what the blonde man already knew.

He was a worthless piece of shit.

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**Aaaaand scene. sorry if it cut off weirdly, I wrote the last few paragraphs in a hurry so that i could post it as part of my big, cluster-post tonght :D If you enjoyed it, I would die of happiness over a comment or two (i kid you not, i save the emails i get and show them to people at school) **

**TTFN XD**


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